This invention relates to a cartridge-based data storage system in which a flexible magnetic disk is disposed within a cartridge shell. More particularly, the invention relates to a shutter for a data-storage cartridge.
Flexible-media data-storage cartridges with shutters have been suggested for some time. For example, a cartridge having a rotary shutter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re, 32,876 (Wakabayashi et al.). The Wakabayashi patent discloses a cartridge that contains a flexible magnetic disk for storing information. The disk is connected to a hub, and the disk and hub assembly is sandwiched between upper and lower covers, or shells. Openings are formed in the upper and lower covers to provide access to the disk by the read/write heads of a disk drive.
The Wakabayashi shutter rotates within the interior of the cartridge, i.e., within the cartridge's outer covers. The shutter comprises a metal sheet that slides over the disk-access openings in the covers, selectively covering and uncovering the openings. This design represents an alternative to the more common linearly-translating shutter found in 1.44 megabyte floppy disks, and may be preferable for a cartridge in which the disk-access opening is relatively small. For certain other types of access openings, a different rotary shutter mechanism may be desirable.
Many data-storage cartridges contain some sort of liner disposed within their outer shells to protect and clean the surface of the data-storage medium. For example, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,075, fabric liners may be affixed to the inner surface of the cartridge's outer shell. In cartridges which employ an internal shutter, further protection of the data-storage medium may be obtained by placing a liner on the inner surface of the shutter. Full protection of the storage medium from the shutter can only be realized, however, if the liner covers the entire inner surface of the shutter, including the shutter's edges. Thus, a need exists for a shutter liner that isolates the entire surface of the shutter, including its edges, from the data-storage medium.